{like can lead to love}

Over the last year, my blogging has severely decreased. Yeah, I work full time. Yeah, I have a house to run into the ground, and a husband and child to bug. But, my number one excuse for not blogging here is that I'm typically way too busy reading OTHER blogs. And those blogs send me to other blogs, and the cycle continues. There are so many rediculously talented women out there rockin' the blog scene. My favorites are the crafters. I don't care if they are crafting cupcakes or holiday mantel displays, I just love them all. I read their blogs and dream about all the great things I'M going to do JUST LIKE THEM OMFG!

The photobloggers have me dreaming of all the fantastic digital editing I'm going to do. The style bloggers have me drooling over my next decorating project (oh, who am I kidding - my first decorating project). The quilters. The homemade good makers. The stay at home knitting mommy brigrade. I want to do everything they can do. I want to try it all out. Except, I can't stop reading all these freakin' blogs to actually start doing any of these awesome things! I've replaced my 14 hour a week TV problem with a 14 hour a week blog addiction. Can't. Stop. Reading. Crafting. Blogs.

And then, the worst possible thing happened. I stumbled across a blog so overwhelmingly awesome in so many different ways, I may just be able to forsake all other blogs for Kevin and Amanda. /swoon. /drool.

But, even though I nearly face my demise in the blogging world, I must persist in persisting. I started this place to document my many adventures in raising up my little family.

{fall fun}

A few pics of Mikey visiting his Aunt in Tucson and Trick-or-Treating on Halloween:






{Mikey showing his toy trains to Grammy while on the phone with her}








{counting the loot afterward}

{devilish deeds}

Much to my dismay, the Yoda costume was out of stock. This seemed more appropriate anyway.

{backyard adventures}

Mikus Arulius Patricles III, enjoying nature with his trusty sidekick, "Gud Girl Sammie Dodgey."

{random acts of randomness}

*random kidneys: Baby has something going on with his kidneys. I haven't talked much about it, but apparently the official term is "Renal Pelvic Fullness." After all that has gone on with my father's health, hearing the word Renal just makes me want to puke. Best case scenario, baby will no longer have any issues at the 28 week follow up ultrasound. Worst case scenario, baby will require surgery after he is born to remove whatever obstruction is causing the problem.

*random neighbor: The next door neighbor lady (I believe she is single, or at least living alone) has taken a fancy to our sweet old lady, Sammie. One random Saturday she knocked on our door and asked if she could come into the backyard to pet her, as they had apparently struck up a friendship over the wall while she was doing yardwork. I'm pretty "meh" about that kind of stuff. Whatever you want to do! I'm sure Sammie won't fuss about the attention. I knew their friendship was growing, because Mikey finds all the treasures she lobs into the backyard. When I hear the words "Mmmm, good" and look up to find my toddler eating doggie biscuits, I had to laugh. That explains why Sammie was randomly turning up rawhide bones out of thin air in our backyard for a few weeks. Anyway, the most recent event to occur was when I opened the blinds to the sliding glass door to find Sammie snuggled up in a nice comfy HUGE doggie bed, lol, along with a note from the neighbor saying she hoped we didn't mind her getting Sammie a present.

*random reunion: Our old neighbors from Maricopa have moved to Chandler, and only live about 10 minutes away now! She sent out an invitation to her son's 2nd bday, and we ended up reconnecting much sooner. Yesterday afternoon our boys had a 'playdate' that involved chasing eachother in circles around the house. Fun was had by all. We hadn't seen eachother in just about a year, so it was great catching up.

{so many things}

It only seems fair that if I spent the last three blog posts complaining about the insane heat in AZ, that I in turn give AZ mad props for the last three rainy days with highs in the 70's/80's. It was a nice chilly 65 this morning on my way to work. Of course, AZ does everything EXTREME, so our rain also included hurricane strength winds, TORNADO'S!!! and oh yes, marble sized hail. WTF?!

But, I'll take hail and tornado's over 108 degree October days EVERY TIME!

In other news, had a follow up ultrasound yesterday to get a better look at the baby and also to check out his placenta. Baby looks great, growth is great, still a little boy for sure (I could actually tell this time :o), and heart and brain look fantastic. Only thing is the durned placenta, and where the umbilical cord inserts into it. Everything on the cord itself looks fantastic, but placement is just abnormal. Just because it is abnormal doesn't mean anything will be wrong, they just need to keep an eyeball on it. So far it isn't hampering the little dudes growth in any way whatsoever. Oh, and little dudes name might not be William anymore. I've recently fallen in love with the name Thomas. So - we'll see what we end up with, lol.

Other things? How about fruit and vegetable things? How about finding awesome solutions to irritating problems. My problem was that I wanted to give my family a variety of organic fruits and veggies, but I didn't want to participate in a lame co-op or go to a farmer's market. Solution? Nature's Garden Delivered. For an extremely reasonable price, this company delivers a box once a week full of organic produce. I get to set my preferences so they never stick mushroom's or ocra within inches of my box. Each Friday they send me an email with a list of what will be in the box for the next week, so if there is anything I object to, I can swap it out. Awesome! The perfect solution for the woman who wants organic produce for her family yet is too lazy to go about obtaining it. Now all I need to do is get J to set up an herb garden on the wall in the dining room and I'm ready to rock!

What about holiday things? Because it is fall now, in case you didn't know, so my head is swirling with all the fabulous holiday projects I want to tackle. Baking and crafting (check out these awesome ghosts!. I'm thinking pumpkin cupcakes are in order. Make some halloween sugar cookies. And lots of spooky decorations. Mikey's little buddy Zander is turning 1 on Halloween, so we actually have a Halloween/Birthday party to go to!!

Finally, it is officially "owshide" time. Expect lots of pictures from me capturing our outdoor exploration now that our shoes won't melt to the sidewalks.

{hot hot heat}

I hate to wish the days away, but these last few weeks of September have been simply dreadful. I can't remember a hotter September, so I continued looking forward to October and playing pretend indoors that Fall really was right around the corner. Imagine my dismay when the high for October 1st in my neck of the woods is 104.

Perhaps it wouldn't be so devastating if I hadn't spent the last few days of September getting a handle of Mikey's closet. Out with the old, in with the new. It was amazing to discover exactly how much clothing we have accumulated for our son since his birth. I have approximately 20 large garbage bags FULL of various sizes of little boy clothing, ranging from the unopened newborn onesies that Mikey never fit into, to the most recently filled bags of size 2T that Mikey outgrew before he even turned 2.


{Mikey's 2T's - purchased when he was 12 months old}

My now 21 month old is fully rocking the 3T, and I took great delight in emptying his closet of what no longer fit, and refilling it in an organized as possible manner. I'm sure he doesn't really appreciate it, but it helps me to know that my Husband (who is in charge of dressing Mikey in the mornings) can now easily find an outfit for the day that fits.

Even though it is fun to unpack a new wardrobe for Mikey, putting away the smaller sizes struck my squishy mom heart in an odd way (like always when it suddenly slams into me that Mikey isn't a helpless infant any longer) and it reminded me that perhaps there would be some cold and dreary days ahead in which I might long for these warmer days we are currently experiencing. So, with that in mind, I looked to our 10 day weather forecast to determine how many *hot* days we had left so I could plan to use them according. And what do you know, folks. Tomorrow. Tomorrow is our last triple digit day. Followed closely by two days in the 90's, and then a quick jump off into the 80's. Supposedly.

Break out the sweaters, people!!! In 3T, please.

{first day of fall}

The last day of summer was not such a terrible day. It was muggy, but not too hot (thank you to whatever tropical storm system sloughed off a day of rain on us) so Mikey and I were able to wander over to the park so he could burn off some energy. Unfortunately, there was a mean little dog in attendance as well - and while the dog wasn't large, it still had teeth, and Mikey being unable to resist all things on four legs was not about to let those teeth deter him from petting the dodgey (aka, doggie). So, while the little girl with the dog attempted to drag off the rabid fido to one corner of the park, I attempted to corral my little dude to the monkey bars. It wasn't happening. I bargained with Mikey, and we agreed that we would just go home and pet our own sweet dodgey, Sammie. Except I forgot that the pest control company had been out earlier in the day to spray, and our back porch was infested with angry insects fleeing the chemical warfare inflicted upon them earlier. *sigh*

Mikey was not thrilled that his bargained backyard time ended up being "inside" time afterall, and he demonstrated his displeasure by burying his face in a corner near the front door and crying loudly (have you ever cried into a 90 degree angle? It tends to amplify sound...) "owshide, owshide, owshide." Poor dude. The obesity epidemic that is plaguing our country and I have the nerve to deprive my toddler of "owshide" time.

At that point, I was running out of time to attend to the errand that I was dreading most - facing the bank I was none to pleased with in order to finally have the levy lifted from our account. As it turns out, the Department of Revenue faxed a letter to our bank stating that the levy was issued in error, it was their fault, and to please please pretty please with sugar on top waive any fees that were assessed as a result of said mistaken levy. The branch manager I spoke with was reasonable, agreed that the fee should be waived, and said that she was pretty sure the waive would be granted (it was up for review). The only problem is that while the bank DID receive the letter from the dept of revenue stating that the levy was an error, they still haven't received a copy of the actual release, so the funds are still on hold in our account. But but but - I haven't given up yet. Left a message with the only human working at the Dept of Revenue and asked her to please refax the form. Assuming the bank gets it this morning, everything should be resolved today. I was feeling appeased and allowed the banker to upsell me on a cash back rewards debit card (to replace the one they cancelled). Of course, because I am merely his wife, Josh still has not had his card replaced because "Oh, yeah, he has to come in and do it himself."

Whatever.

I left the bank feeling almost vindicated, and in a pretty decent mood, so I transferred that to Mikey and decided that since I had deprived him of "owshide" time earlier, I would give him an extra long bath! Yeah - the kid is whacky and loves bath time - which is great because he is forever getting covered in muckity muck. Getting him out of the bath is an entirely different matter - he won't leave! 45 minutes in, the water was approaching cool, and I had to pretend the drain was broken and the water was "leaking" out. Oh noes! Oh noes! The bath is broken - the water ran away, here get in this towel.

After Mikey went to bed, I was treated to a delicious spaghetti dinner by my darling husband, and dessert was Criminal Minds and Chelsea Lately.

Not a bad day for the last day of summer. Not at all. Now, Summer, since you were a total jerk and showed up WEEKS before you were scheduled to arrive on the calendar, could you be a dear and get with the program and take a hike?

{half baked}

Today I have officially reached the halfway mark in my pregnancy. The pregnancy I shall forever remember as the summer in AZ which turned into a fiery hellish inferno of ridiculous heat in September. Seriously people, the highs last week were INSANE! On my way back from the West Valley yesterday afternoon, the temps on my car registered at 112. Granted, it was only 108 outside, but for effs sake, AZ, give me a frickin' break! This morning at 5am it was a nice breezy 90 degrees outside. Nothing I love more than perspiration at the crack of dawn.

And I know, bla bla bla, AZ is great 9 months out of the year, quit yer' complaining. No. No no no. AZ is not great 9 months out of the year. Not to me. Not sure what my parents were thinking moving us here 22 years ago. It is HOT. It hits the 90's in April and doesn't relent until some time in October. So, in my book, AZ is UGLY 7 months out of the year.

If I were a smarter person, I would have gone to an out of state school - at least then I could justify the absurd amount I owe in student loans. And then maybe I might have stayed where I went to school. But now all I feel is trapped in this oven, and due to the current economy, I don't see my surroundings changing any time soon (sorry, Mother-in-law, I did so hope to be in the South East by this time).

I'm trying so hard to ignore the actual temperature outside, and cranking my AC down to freezing (take that, environmentalist whacko's) and burning pumpkin spice candles as fast as they will melt down, but it just isn't working. Perhaps my sister-in-law would be so kind as to forward me her Pumpkin Bread recipe.

At least sweet baby William is nice and cool in the 98.6 degree heat of my womb. Happy 5 months post creation. Everything appears to be coming along nicely in there - so keep up the great work! And I will do my best to get us moved somewhere more to my likings... like the North Pole.

{eff you, AZ.}

Have you ever heard the saying, "When it rains, it pours?" Guess what, internet, it totally does.

As if there wasn't already enough going wrong in my universe, yesterday morning started off pleasantly enough with a quick stop at my favorite place ever, QT {aka, quiktrip} for a fillup.

Insert debit card. "Please see cashier." Huh? Insert debit card once again. "Please see cashier." Now wait just a minute. I know I have money in there. Grumble Grumble Grumble. QT sometimes has issues with their banking system, so I run down the street to the ghetto Circle K and try to fill up there. "Please see cashier." AGHHHHH!

{now, Josh asked me why I didn't just go in to see the cashier at this point, but I knew they wouldn't be able to tell me anything good - just that my card wasn't working for some reason, or that maybe there was a terrorist attack that brought down Visa's system... or something}

So I go to my office, bring up my bank's website, and try to log in to see what on earth is going on. Except, oh wait, my bank's online banking site is down. And after some further research, it turns out it has been down close to 12 hours at this point. Aghh, relief. It isn't me. It is them! Apparently my bank's ATM's are still working, so after I leave work I stop by a branch to pull some cash out so I can fill up my car. I pull through the drive-thru to use the ATM. The ATM can not read my card. Again, I swipe it. No go. Oh my god, this is getting ridiculous.

You know, this story is getting long, so I'll try to shorten it. I go into the bank to talk to a banker.

Per banker, the reason my debit card is not working is because the debit cards were cancelled by their levy department. Yes, Levy department. Apparently a levy has been placed on our account. He doesn't know why, and directs me to that department. Per the Levy department, the Arizona Department of Revenue submitted legal paperwork for the Levy, and I will have to call them to get it released. Per the Arizona Department of Revenue, I didn't pay my 2009 State Taxes. But, oh wait, the chick on the line DOES see money sitting in our account unapplied - money that has been earmarked for a 2010 estimated tax payment. I am looking at copies of the check (front and back) that I sent in April - and clear as day on the front "2009 Arizona State Taxes" are written. Oh, did I mention that I included a voucher (provided by THEM!) along with the check to show what the funds were for.

But but but - they still won't release the levy because the amount sitting unapplied doesn't cover the amount we owe. You see, because my payment that was due in April hasn't been paid yet, I was charged a late fee, so the amount owed is higher than the amount in the account. Nevermind that it was THEIR ERRROR that caused all this. I'm told that the burden of proof rests with me - I have to fax copies of the checks, copies of the voucher and a letter stating what happened and how I want my funds applied.

So, in the mean time, my bank has the funds that AZ Department of Revenue request on "hold" and our debit cards have been cancelled, and the AZ Department of Revenue will not release the levy until I either send in the $7.00 late fee so the full amount is paid, or they get the $200.18 from the bank.

Yes, that is right, internet, the Arizona Department of Revenue placed a levy on my checking account for $200.18. Once the $200.18 is satisfied by either me sending in the late fee or them receiving the amount from the bank, they will release the levy on my account and refund the overage back to me.

So, yeah. Screw you government. Screw you AZ. And screw you bank (big national bank) that added insult to injury by taking a $100.00 fee for processing the Levy paperwork. I hate you all. I'm leaving the bank for sure. I'm going to leave AZ as soon as I can.

/grumble. /cry.

I'm still working to resolve all this, but hopefully all will be ironed out by Friday. No, relatives, we don't need you to western union us money, and Josh just might explode if anyone calls to ask him any questions about this, as a warning :)

{success is not final, failure is not fatal}

It is the courage to continue that counts. -Winston Churchill

I really wasn't attempting to mislead any of my two readers when I said I would be blogging again. I had every intention of opening my blogger editor each day to document, document, document. Capture every moment digitally in one way or another, and all that jazz. Alas, August happened. Frickin' August.

I won't go into the insane details, but here are the basics in a convenient bullet point list:

*Dad almost dies
*Dad is hospitalized
*Hospital spends great deal of time attempting to discharge my father before he is a)awake, b)coherent, c)feeding himself, d)going to the bathroom on his own. Oh yeah, and they still hadn't exactly figured out what was wrong.
*I spend agonizing hours fretting over the fate of my father, and hoping the hospital doesn't just roll my father out in a wheelchair into the busy street.
*Dad is finally "approved" for rehabilitative services (now that he is cooperating by being "awake.")
*Dad is moved to rehab, and when he finally "comes to", none of the staff determine that it might be important to let this man know WHY he is here at the rehab center.
*Dad promptly proceeds to call 911 several times because he is being held against his will (who gave him a phone, anyway?)
*I finally give Dad the breakdown on what happened, where he was, where he went, and what it means for the rest of his life. He finally agrees to stop behaving like a child and take his meds and eat his food. But, only if I bring him cigarettes.

Somewhere in between all the madness, we found out that we are having another boy! Hooray for brothers! Mikey is thrilled with the "libble brudder" in my belly, and when prompted for what his name should be, he has advised us SEVERAL times that the baby's name is "Dean-two-nine." Or DiDi. I mean, I was kinda leaning towards Liam (short for William), but Dean-two-nine does have a nice ring to it.

In other news, it is September in Arizona, which usually means slightly cooler weather, but we've pretty much had triple digit days so far, including one gloriously horrific day when it was 113 outside with 40% humidity. AJ's still doesn't have their extremely seasonal Honey Crisp apples (which are like 4.99 a pound, but I do not care!). All in all, the stars are aligning to plot against me, but it doesn't matter, because my father is going to be ok.

{colors}

J's parents came for a visit last week, and unfortunately (for them) barely even left the house! I hope they didn't have visions of visiting old pals and enjoying the Phoenix night life. What they DID get to do was allow this mama some peace and *sorta* quiet. J's mom knows just what to do to bring a smile to my face. I didn't see one dish, or mop one floor for an entire 4 days! Besides making my life easier, they also provided hours of entertainment to Mikey by inspiring our little Picasso:













Definitely in Mikey's top 10 list of best memories ever :)

{back to school}

I've been away from this blog for nearly two months now. An unplanned break, although as it turns out, a much needed one. I've always been a blogger without a purpose - in my mind anyway, I could not necessarily be classified as a "mommy blogger" or a "food blogger" or a "music blogger" or any other term used to lump bloggers together into identifiable groups.

When I first started reading blogs, my favorites were always the *nesting* bloggers. Youngish women writing about starting families, and making their homes. I found solace in knowing these women through their blogs. I felt less alone. Hey - look - there are other women out there experiencing the same things as me. Except, I wasn't experiencing the same things, I was just reading about their experiences and letting their images color my blank walls.

Not to say that my life lacks meaning or purpose, or is empty. Far from it. Just that my dreams and hopes for my family are all continually bubbling just beneath the surface, never quite making it to paper, never coming to fruition. Hey - I'm sure it is enough for most families to get by, but I don't want to just do enough. I want to do amazing.

So, with that in mind, I'm setting out to get this blog back to its original purpose: the documenting of mine and my families lives together. Some day I hope my children can look back through these archives and fondly remember the simple memories and collections of photographs taken for them.







P.S. - I'm pregnant. 5 days left of the 1st trimester.

{English}

I'm so tired of having to come in here and moderate comments that are written in Chinese. Seriously grating on me after having my gmail account hacked twice from a Chinese IP. So - if you aren't going to leave me a comment in English, PLEASE DON'T BOTHER!

That is all.

{Are You a Fat Fish, Too}

Yesterday, after spending $60.00 on a swimsuit, cap and goggles, and after getting everyone tucked into bed for the night, I drove myself to our overpriced gym that I've used all of 3 times, and jumped into an empty lane in one of the 4 full sized lap pools at said overpriced gym. You see, I had been dreaming of swimming. Literally. Something about that water has been calling me. A friend recently told me that my Sun Sign being Picses probably had a lot to do that - that perhaps the water was healing. Whatever it was, I had to go.

I was extremely nervous, and my heart was doing little flip flops the whole way to the locker room. You see, I do know how to swim. I swam quite a bit growing up. Each summer my mother enrolled me in the local city swim team (Go Goodyear Sharks!). Not only did I know how to swim, I swam competitively. And even if I wasn't quite as good as my little sister, I won my fair share of Blue Ribbons at swim meets. Being on the swim team made the summers in Phoenix bareable. We had swim practice everyday, and a swim meet almost every weekend. My favorite stroke? The BUTTERFLY! Yes, the crappiest hardest most tiring stroke was my favorite. I think it is because it took me so long to learn it, that mastering it was quite a triump for me.

I carried on this way for many years, and finally, my Freshman year, I joined the High School swim team (Go OWLS!). I did that for a year, and then it became too much. I had to chose between swimming and marching band. For some reason Marching band won, and so at the ripe old age of 15, I stopped swimming competitively and regularly in general.

So - there I am, walking out of the locker room, heart pitter pattering, sure that I'm going to sink to the bottom (of the 5 foot deep lap pool) and suddenly it is do or die. I get in. Well - first I sat down on the edge of the pool, then I slid in. Nice and easy. I fiddled with my cap (I don't remember the stupid things being so hard to get on) and adjusted my goggles, and I was off!

I started off with Freestyle, and then started alternating between Freestyle and breast stroke. Around lap 10, curiousity got the best of me, and despite my fear that everyone else in the lap pool would drown laughing at me, I decided to give my old pal the Butterfly a try.

And you know what, internet, swimming really is like riding a bike. Amazingly enough, my arms and legs just seemed to remember what they were doing. Granted, after swimming the stroke for 50 meters, I was about to explode, so my remaining laps in the pool were back to freestyle, but I look forward to building on that!

All in all, I swam 20 laps, and I was truly exhausted afterwards. This morning my arm muscles feel sore, and I was a little tired, but I can't wait to go back tonight!

{Dry Heat}

{Sometimes}

Life doesn't make much sense.

{Goodbye, Friend}

In a very rapid (over the course of 48 hours) amount of time, our dear 4 year old German Shepherd, Guinness, went from *fine* to dead.

He was playing like his normal self on Monday, and by Wednesday night he was refusing to eat anything. We decided to take him to the vet first thing in the morning, and by that time, he was dead. We have no idea what happened - our other dog, Sammie, is fine.

While I often thought that Marley & Me was based on our trials with Guinness, at the end of the day he was still our dog, and we loved him.

We will miss him dearly.

{summertime and the livin's easy}

It is summer here in death valley. I mean Phoenix. But, it isn't hot enough, because Mikey still refuses to play in the blow up pool purchased to keep his wee hiney cool during the hot summer months. Loves the bath. Hates the pool. I do have to admit that I absolutely have ulterior motives when it comes to the pool. You see, I would *love* to spend some time outside that doesn't involve chasing him down the street. Perhaps he is just pulling a Richard Simmons on me and trying to trick me into exercising (it is working) but it surely is difficult to run whilst holding a can of Coors(light!).

Dude, Mommeeeee is trying to chill in this here plastic lawn chair that is finally comfortable to sit in now that she has lost another 15 pounds. And, even though you don't appreciate the cool water, I sure love using the edge of the pool as an ottoman of sorts and allowing my feet to soak while I admire my freshly pedicured mint green toenails. Hey. Where are you going?



It occurred to me during the week that I needed to move this operation from our frontyard to our backyard, so that when Mikey jumps out of the less than luke warm pool, the farthest he can go to is the orange tree. Alas, dog crap, you have bested me yet again as I have allowed you to accrue at an ungodly pace. So, today I spent Mikey's 3 hour nap raking up dead grass and dog poo, and also acquired some rad blisters on my hands along the way. When Mikey woke up from his nap, I was so exhausted from the yard work/zyrtec/coors light, that I feel asleep on the couch while my spawn smeared blue frosting from a cookie on my nose. I awoke to the foul odor eminating from my son's diaper to a mouthful of honey nut cheerios and marshmallows he had tried to feed me while I caught up on my beauty rest. You know, that is what I get for falling asleep on the job.

The worst part of all? When Josh finally woke me up after the census worker rung the doorbell and he was finally conned into taking the damn census survey, I remembered the untouched 2 liter of diet coke chilling in the fridge for me. I just needed a little caffeine to get my afternoon groove going. "Honey, will you make me a glass of diet coke." "There isn't any." "Oh yes there is! I put it in the Fridge this morning." "Uhm, I sort of drank it while you were napping." "Noooooooooo..."

The only possible solution to this was to order Domino's for dinner, cause how else am I supposed to get Diet Coke delivered to the house, ha ha ha. Except I couldn't eat pizza for dinner because I wasted all my points on McDonald's Sausage burrito's and Coors Light. So, now I'm all hopped up on Diet Coke and listening to Techno/Trance while uploading pictures from a birthday party yesterday and downloading more Techno/Trance. Gee - I sure am revisiting a lot of old vices recently. Diet Coke. Check. Metabolife. Check. Jamming out on my MP3 player non-stop. Check. Afternoon naps. Check. I feel like a teenager again (trapped in the body of an overweight 27 year old with a 17 month old). Alright, I better stop this blog post right here. Would hate to reveal anything weird about myself.

{oh for too}

Sorry, sick of numbers. You can thank weight watchers for that. When I really think about it, I'm not sick of numbers, but rather wishing I had more of them. More specifically, can I have more points please? Between my last go and this attempt at Weight Watchers, I lost about 14 pounds and now only get 26 points per day (plus the extra 35 I can spend throughout the week as I choose). This time around, J is in on the act, asking all sorts of questions about point values by food type. Discussing the merits of food based on volume and the more I can get for the fewest amount of points has reminded me that, oh yeah, I can eat a lot more strawberries than I can snickers bars. Duh.

Still, I suffer between convenience and how mad my stomach becomes when I feed it processed junk "diet" food (I type this as I lick the last of the sauce from the meager portion of my Smart ones Three Cheese Ziti Marinara container).

I recently read "Finally Thin" by Kim Bensen, and her story of losing 200 pounds in 2 years on Weight Watchers. The first part of the book is her story, while in the second she attempts to motivate me to lose weight myself. So far, I'm not motivated by anything but the fact that she lost 200 pounds, and even though I only need to lose 50, I still find that number overwhelming. 50 pounds. Bla.

In any event, the only reason I'm even wasting internet space with this is because one of Kim's tips is to "journal" about your weight loss efforts. So, yeah, this is a start.

{around here}

Our weekend, in photographs...





























































Playing at the park, running around the block, napping and baking cookies. I hope everyone else had a great weekend, too!